In many states and other jurisdictions it is now required by law that children under a certain weight or age when transported in an passenger vehicle be in a restraining seat which has a restraining harness system particularly suitable for children. The normal belt system for adults does not provide the same benefits when used to restrain toddlers and infants due to toddlers' and infants' smaller size and more fragile bodies. Children restraining systems may offer significant benefits during automobile accidents if used properly. The standard commercially available restraining seat positioned for infants is rearwardly facing so that the infant is seated in a backward reclining position relative to the adult passengers. Toddlers on the other hand are seated in a seat in a forward facing mode. Many commercial portable restraining seats are reversible, i.e., they can be adjusted to be mounted either in the forward facing or reverse position so that a single portable seat can be used for a child until the child outgrows the need for a portable seat with a restraining harness.
There is also rising concern about the lack of child restraining seats in commercial airlines. Current federal regulations allow the use of children restraining seats in airlines and permit the airlines to determine which particular seats will be used on their airplanes. Presently, the airline crew members must inspect each portable seat to determine if the belt and harness are properly used. Secondly, it is difficult to tell if a portable seat is unoccupied or has a small child seated therein because the child's head does not extend above the top of the regular passenger seat.
Children have an additional risk over adults to survive a vehicular accident. If an infant or young child remains conscious after an accident, the child may be unaware of his/her predicament and may not communicate to a rescuer his/her position or may even wander aimlessly away from the accident site. Secondly, because of their small size, children are more difficult to see and find, particularly in severe accidents that may cause a great amount of debris or obstructions to visual inspection. A child's location may also be obscured by adverse conditions such as fog or darkness.
The familiar yellow child-on-board signs that are mounted in many motor vehicle windows have become extremely popular. However, the effect of the signs has been diluted because of the vast popularity and improper usage. Frequently, the sign, once installed, remains in the window whether or not a child is in fact in the motor vehicle. Rescuers who see these signs in a vehicle involved in an accident have to be very careful in investigating the area of the accident before concluding that no child was in the vehicle. The effort to locate an illusory child can often waste very valuable and precious time for any other injured people at the accident site.
One of the side effects of these child-on-board signs, in spite of its dilution is that drivers of other nearby vehicles tend to provide larger clearances and tailgate less often behind vehicles that display these signs.
Currently there is no system on the market today that provides a clear indication to other motorists that is less prone to misuse signifying that a child who cannot be seen due to his/her small size is in fact on board a nearby vehicle and that extra caution should be directed to that vehicle.
Even though many of today's portable child restraining seats can be used in passenger vehicles of all types such as airplanes, buses, vans and automobiles none of them indicates to the crew of an airline or an operator of a motor vehicle that a child is occupying a particular seat or that the restraining harnesses are not properly buckled or fastened.
None of the childrens' restraining seats in today's market offer an emergency indicator which is actuated upon impact or collision and clearly alert rescuers to the fact that a child was occupying that seat at the time of the accident.
What is needed is a child restraining seat that provides an emergency signal upon severe vibration of the seat which would occur during impact or collision to alert rescuers that a child was occupying that seat at the time of an accident. Secondly, what is needed in conjunction with the emergency signal is a warning signal indicating that the child restraining seat is either improperly mounted in the vehicle or a restraining harness of the restraining seat is not properly buckled with the occupant therein.
What is also needed is a convertible vehicular seat that can convert from a regular passenger seat to a child restraining seat which incorporates an emergency signal that is actuated upon a collision or impact and a warning signal indicating that the child restraining system is not properly closed or buckled.
What is also needed is a child-on-board indicator that is visible to other nearby motorists particularly to nearby motorists located behind the child carrying vehicle in which the indicator can be easily actuated and deactuated such that it is on only when there is a child actually occupying the seat.